Chinese State TV to Broadcast Live for 1st Time During Olympics

By Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Jul. 8–BEIJING — China’s state TV network will broadcast live for the first time in its history during the Beijing Olympics, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

Jiang Heping, the controller of China Central Television’s sports channel, said it will not use the 30-second delay in transmitting images that it usually practices to ensure programs are broadcast “smoothly and safely.” Xinhua said it will be the first time for CCTV to show programs without a time delay since its founding half a century ago.

Pictures from Olympics venues will be provided by a company set up by the International Olympic Committee, and Jiang said China will take the same live feed as the rest of the world.

China’s state radio and TV networks are tightly controlled by the government, and programs produced by independent producers such as TV dramas are vetted by the Communist Party’s publicity department and state broadcasting watchdogs.

Even sports events outside China are broadcast with a delay in China, with some soccer matches shown in China several minutes after they have actually kicked off in Europe.

News deemed sensitive by the Chinese government, such as reports on Tibet, are also regularly blacked out in China when broadcast on international networks such as BBC World and CNN.

Olympics organizers estimate that about 4 billion people, about two-thirds of the world’s population, will watch at least part of the Beijing Olympics, which will kick off on Aug. 8.

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Copyright (c) 2008, Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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